Saving Grace (11 page)

             
If I ever get my hands on him …
He scowled, turning his gaze back to the eggs in his bowl.

              Grace was hoping that grumpy demeanor from yesterday had faded, but when Burke frowned her heart fell.  She’d seen his kind side, and wanted more of it.

              She quietly slid onto the bar stool at the kitchen counter, and sat, watching his back as he whisked the eggs.  It was the only sound in the room, other than the sounds from the myna birds, singing on the back patio, and the soft crash of the waves, as they beat the shoreline behind them. 

Grace wasn’t sure what to do, so instead of speaking – she waited and intently watched him as he prepared breakfast.  She liked how his arm muscles would flex, as he was doing something as simple as making breakfast.  The fact that he seemed to know his way around the kitchen was impressive. 

As he moved from his sink to the stovetop, Grace took him in from head to his bare feet.  He was sexy without even trying, in his sleeveless T-shirt and khaki cargo shorts. 

His hair was damp, as if he’d just stepped out from a shower. And Grace bet if she could get close he’d smell fresh. She wondered what kind of soap he used and strongly fought the urge to cross the kitchen to wrap her arms around his waist and breathe in his scent. 

Burke could feel her eyes on him, as he moved around the kitchen.  It was like she was boring two holes through his back and it made him a jumpy.  Never in a million years, did he think he’d feel so unnerved by anyone - especially not by this young waif, who had suddenly interrupted his solitary world.

With his back still turned to her, he said, “So are you going to cook for your room and board, or just sit there and take advantage of me?”

“What if I want both?”  Grace shocked herself, with what just came from own mouth. What was she thinking – flirting with this stranger? 

She’d almost composed herself, until she saw his reaction to her flirting.  Her laugh rang through the house.

Burke’s mouth fell open as he spun around to face her.  He was so caught up with her response that he didn’t notice that he had poured the eggs onto the counter, entirely missing his skillet.

All he could focus on was the image of Grace that flashed through his mind, as she was cooking in his kitchen, with nothing on but an apron.  It was short lived, however, as her laughter broke the spell and he soon realized his eggs were running all over the counter top.

He looked from the counter to Grace’s silly grin and sent her an equally goofy grin in return. 
What was she doing to him?

Seeing his smile, Grace felt like she’d won a small battle.  She sat self-gratified with the fact that she could bring that out in him.  Plus, he had one of those dazzling smiles, which turned your insides out.

“You should do that more often,” she said.

“What?  Picture you taking advantage of me in my kitchen?”  He laughed and started to clean up his mess.

“What?”  It took her a minute to catch on, and then she let out a belly laugh.  “No, smile.”  Her voice softened.  “You’ve got a nice one.”

Burke finished wiping up the eggs, and washed his hands.  “Usually there’s no one to smile for.”

Grace’s pulse skipped a beat.  “So there aren’t any other women trying to take advantage of you?  I find that hard to believe.”

He lifted an eyebrow and rounded the counter to sit across from her.  “Believe it or not – not everyone finds me charming.”

“Oh, you’re going for charming, huh?  I thought you were shooting for moody or brooding or something.  But charming might be nice,” she said flippantly, and giggled at the fake scowl that crossed his face.

“Funny.  You’re real funny.”  He tried to hide the sparkle in his eye, but Grace saw it.

Burke stood.  “You hungry?  Cause I’m out of eggs thanks to you.”

“Starving.”

“Okay.  Your clothes are dry.  If you want to shower, it’s down the hall.  Then you can get dressed and we’ll go.”

“Where are my clothes?”

“Oh yeah, hold on.”  He popped up and

took a few steps to his washroom.  He grabbed her outfit from their hangers and brought them to her.

“Here you go.  Your shirt is a bit wrinkled.  I can iron it?” 

Grace shrugged her shoulders and gathered her

clothes.  Her shirt didn’t look too bad. 

“That’s okay.  I can be ready in about 30 minutes.”

“That fast?  I’m impressed.”

Grace smirked back at him, but before leaving to

shower made one request.  “Think we could go shopping?  I need some new clothes, and a phone.”

              “Sure.  There’s a Hilo Hattie’s down town.”

              Her eyes narrowed.  “I’m not sure what that is, but I am willing to bet they don’t carry what I’m looking for.”

              “Okay.  There’s a Safeway across the way.  They have tanks and shorts.  Flip flops, maybe?  There’s an AT&T store in the same strip center.”

              “Um,” Grace paused.  She didn’t want to offend him, but she needed something a bit more than some slippers and a tank top.  “How about a mall?  Do you have one nearby?”

He groaned, and dipped his head back to stare at his ceiling.  He slowly brought it back down to face her.  “I hate crowds, but I’ll take you.  There’s a Zippy’s nearby too.  Let’s eat first okay?”

“I’m not sure what that is either.”  Grace giggled and laid her hand on his.  “But I’ll trust you on that one.”

Her light touch sent a jolt up his arm.  He drew in a sharp breath and quickly rounded the cabinet to finish cleaning up his mess. 

“Just get ready fast … I’m hungry.”

              Grace hopped up and smiled to herself. This felt so natural to banter with Burke in his home. 

Knowing this was short lived, she allowed herself to enjoy it for the moment.  After all – soon enough she’d have to snap back to the reality of her situation.  She might as well enjoy it while it lasted.

And the fact that underneath that scowl was a soft heart was endearing, plus it allowed her some room to feel comfortable for the first time in days.  Burke liked to play like he was a tough nut to crack, but she was starting to see the many layers of his personality. 

Within seconds of rounding the corner to go to the bathroom, she peeked back to where he stood spraying down his counter with Clorox.  She brought her hand up to muffle her laugh.  His face held the most perplexed look, like he was searching for the right answer for a pop quiz.

Grace turned back toward the bathroom.  She liked that she could get under his skin, and was curious to see if his bark was worse than his bite … or how his bite might really feel. 

Chapter 15

Grace opened the door of Burke’s car and stepped out to join him.  He had tried to round the back of his Nissan to open her door, but she was too quick.

              “I was going to get that.”  He narrowed his eyes at her.

              “Sorry … I guess I’m not used to thinking about it.”

              He wondered what kind of men she’d been hanging out with, that she wouldn’t automatically expect her door opened.  Then he looked to her eye and knew the answer.

              Burke led her through the covered parking to the entrance of the food court, which sat in the lower court of the mall.  The smell of cinnamon immediately accosted her senses, and her mouth watered.

              “Man, if I wasn’t so full after eating at Zippy’s – I’d want one of those cinnabons.”  She eyed the gooey delights that set behind the glass counter.

              “Maybe on the way back out?”  He nodded to avert her attention just outside the mall’s sliding glass doors.  “We can sit at that fountain outside.”

              “Not in here?”  Grace’s brow wrinkled, and then she remembered.  “Ah, yes.  Not a fan of crowds.”

              Burke nodded and led her through the court to the escalator.  Once at the top, she could see beautiful blue sky above her. 

“Wow.”  She was in awe.  “It’s like an open strip mall, inside a mall.  What a concept.”

“You’ve never visited here?”  It was his turn to be in awe.  He figured every female tourist found the nearest mall to get their shopping in.

“In all the times I’ve visited – I’ve never come here before.  It’s just beautiful.  Is that a stream that runs up the center of the mall?”

              He watched her eyes widen and take it all in. 

Typical tourist reaction
, he thought and smiled. 

Burke noticed a few of the locals looking curiously at Grace in passing, but didn’t give it a second thought.  After all, tourists were known to gawk, but then he remembered her eye.

              “Here … wait.”  He led her to sit on a concrete divider, which ran the length of the mall.  “You might want to wear these.”  He slid her sunglasses from the top of her head to her nose.

              His touch was as gentle as his tone.  And Grace appreciated both. 

“Thanks.  I almost forgot.  I’m used to people staring at me, so I didn’t give my eye a second thought.”

              “I bet you are.  You’re beautiful,” He said softly, and dropped his hands from her face.

              “No, that’s not what I meant.”  Grace tried, but wasn’t ready to explain that she was an Aundine just yet.  And who knew, maybe the Aundine name didn’t carry much weight all the way out here.  He may not even know who her family was … who she really was. 

“Never mind.”               

It was then she realized that inside the concrete ledge, which she sat upon, was a fish habitat.  Large koi fish swam the entire length of the shopping district in what she thought was just a stream.

              “Oh my gosh.”  She squealed, and placed her finger in the water.  She leaned down as far as her body would let her.  “It’s like my hand wants to get in there and swim with them.”  Grace giggled, feeling smooth skin, as she let her fingers glide across the large koi below.

              “Watch out that you don’t fall in.”

              Grace smirked.  “I have a feeling you’d save me.”

              His face burned.  He knew he would, but wasn’t sure he liked being that obvious. 

“Well, whatever.”  He said a little too gruff.  “What do we need to get for you so we can get out of here?”

              Grace just smiled in response.  She knew him well enough by now to recognize his response as nothing but a defense mechanism.  He wasn’t cruel … he just had walls … like she did.  It was then she wondered who had hurt Burke.

Chapter 16

4 years ago

Captain Nathan Burkette had just completed his third tour in Afghanistan.  Although the marine in him hated to leave his men behind, he still couldn’t wait to get home to his wife, Melanie. 

His time overseas had been hard on her, and he knew she resented him for staying in when he could have gotten out by now.

But once a Marine, always a Marine … it was hard leaving your buddies behind, when you’ve seen and survived all they had.  It bonded you in a way that no one on the outside could understand.

By the end of his third tour, he’d sensed a shift in his wife’s demeanor.  She wasn’t as forthcoming with the details of her daily life, and she didn’t linger on their Skype sessions like she used to. 

His gut told him something was wrong, so by the time it was
go time
– he was ready to be home.  He knew he had a battle ahead of him that might be harder than the one he was leaving behind, but he loved his wife, and it was a battle he was prepared to win.  She was all he ever knew.

The week he was set to fly out, a lone bomber drove a truck through a barricade, which exploded fifty yards from the building he was in.  Just as he was signing off from a Skype call with Melanie, the building crumbled around him and all went black.